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Setting the cultural heritage research agenda

27 March 2012

UCL has contributed to
setting the European research agenda relating to cultural heritage and global
change.

A UCL-led workshop held in
December 2011 resulted in the League of European Research Universities (LERU) Declaration
on the Joint Programming Initiative ‘Cultural Heritage and Global Change: A New
Challenge for Europe’ (The UCL Declaration).

Joint Programming provides a
new framework within which European Union Member States jointly address areas
where public research programmes may help respond to major societal challenges.
The process involves identifying a Common Vision, defining a Strategic Research
Agenda (SRA) for the coming decade and implementing it through a Joint
Programming Initiative (JPI).

The UCL Declaration has been approved by LERU and submitted to the
Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage & Activities (the Joint Programme’s
Coordinator) and the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council (the Joint
Programme Partner developing the SRA over the next year).

The process through which The UCL Declaration was arrived at offers a model for effective engagement with the policy environment at a strategic level.

Professor David Price

Professor May Cassar (UCL
Centre for Sustainable Heritage) led the workshop, with support from the UCL
European Institute, the UCL European Research & Development Office and the
UCL Grand Challenge of Intercultural Interaction. She said: “UCL, with its
expertise in cultural heritage, and insight into Member States’ priorities and
decision-making processes, was well placed to guide this process. We were able
to refine and articulate the European academic community’s priorities for cultural
heritage research.“

LERU, which represents
Europe’s top 21 leading research-intensive universities, initiated the process
by asking Professor David Price, UCL Vice-Provost (Research), to coordinate the
formulation of a LERU response to the new research programme. He said:
“Joint Programmes will have significant influence on research directions
over next decade, so it is essential that leading research universities make
the most of opportunities to shape research agenda.“

Professor Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary-General
of LERU, commented: “The UCL Declaration nicely illustrates the possibility for
research-intensive universities to influence a multinational research agenda on
a grand societal challenge, and at the same time create a reinforced
cooperation between different top research teams.“